Automatic expression device.



O. M. KENNEDY.

AUTOMATIC EXPRESSION DEVICE.

APPLICATION men JULY 7, 1915.

Patented May16, 1916.

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APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, 1915. 1,183,569.

Patented May 16, 1916.

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AUTOMATIC EXPRESSION DEVICE.

APPLICATION-FILED JULY 7. 1915.

Patented May 16, 1916.

OIBNQEY 0. M. KENNEDY.

AUTOMATIC EXPRESSION DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED IULY Z. I9I5. 7 1,183,569. Patents ay16,191(

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS M. KENNEDY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE CUNNING- HAM PIANO COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC EXPRESSION DEVICE.

Application filed July 7, 1915. Serial No. 38,526.

To all whom it may, concern:

Be it known that I, Orrs M. KENNEDY, a citizen of the United States, residing at lhihulelphia, in the county of .Philadelphia andthe State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Expression Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new an useful improvements in pneumatic players and more particularly to expression devices whereby the pneumatic player may be automatically regulated to give the correct expression to the music.

(loner-ally, on music rolls of the standard type for player pianos there is provided on each roll a dotted line called the expression lin whereby the operator will be given an idea of the expression necessary to play the music correctly. To permit inexperienced pers ns to operate the rolls correctly, the

purpose. of the present invention is to provide a device whereby any operator may gain the correct expression by following the line on the music rolls.

Another object of the invention is to provide. a device of the aforesaid character which may be applied to any player action having the solo pneumatics without altering the player or the piano and interfering with the operation of the same.

further object of the invention is to provide a device for automatically operating the solo pneumatics of a player accordingly to the expression line whether it be soft. medium or loud and which will 0pcrate upon all standard rolls having the expression line without requiring any special type of music rolls.

The invention also aims to provide a device of the character described which will operate the player when desired to gain the proper expression, but which can be easily and readily retained in a neutral position whereby the usual expression devices of the player may be operated by hand where the operator desires to lend his own taste to the expression without correctly following the expression line of the music rolls.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the improved construction and novel arrangements, formation and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and particuiarly pointed out in the appended claims.

Specification of Letters Patent.

.latentcd May 16, 1916.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that the right is reserved to any changes, alterations and modifications to which re course may be had within the scope of the invention and without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the efficiency of the same.

In the drawings; Figure 1 is a fragmental front elevation of an upright piano show ing portion of the pneumatic player and having one embodiment of the present invention applied thereto. Fig. 2, is a similar view showing the lower portion of the piano and player with portion of the invention pp lillel'vto- Fig. 3, is an enlarged side elevation of valve for controlling the action of the solo pneumatics. Fig. 4c, is an end elevation of the same. ig. 5, is a top plan view of the slide valve when removed. Fig. 6, is a vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5. F ig. 7, is a bottom plan view of the valve when removed. Fig. 8, is a horizontal section of the same. Fig. 9; is a side elevation of the indicator as applied to the music spool box. Fig. 10, is a detail sectional view of the lever connected to the indicator. Fig. 11, is a detail perspective view of the upper and lower crank arms, andFig. 12, is a plan view of the upper crank arm. through one of the pneumatics.

Like and corresponding parts are indicated by similar reference characters throughout.

The letter A indicates an upright piano of any well i tion having the key board I) and the key bed B as usual. l

The parts of the player not directly forming a part of the present invention do not need a complete description herein. I have chosen to show'only such parts as are directly correlated with the elements forming thesubject matter herein claimed and such parts Will be referred to only as briefly as will be necessary to a proper uiulerstanding of the construction and operation of the parts constituting the present invention which will be readily apparent to those skilled within the art.

The pneumatic player as herein shown .110

Fig. '13 is a vertical section known or approved construcnism will operate the hammer rest rails of has the usual tracker board 0; a music roll E; a take up roll D, a perforated sheet of music unwinding from the roll D upon the roll and vice versa.

A pneumatic motor M is shown operatively connected to the driving mechanism F of any approved type and the latter is operatively connected to the rolls E and D for driving the same.

Gr indicates the usual automatic self tracker and H the usual tempo indicator.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings the treadles I are shown for operating the feeds J, and the reservoirs K being connected by the tube L. I

The letterN indicates thev usual treble 'solo pneumatic having the vertically extending rod 0 connected at one end thereto and the opposite end of the rod being connected to the hammer rail in the usual manner The treble solo pneumatic is in communication with the feeders by means of the tube N.

Arranged within the opposite side of the piano casing is the bass pedal pneumatic P being in communication with the feeders by the usual tube 1? .and this solo pneumatic is operatively connected to the hammer rail by means of the rod S.

The letter T indicates the loud pedal pneumatic being in communication with the feeders by means of the'tube T and this pedal pneumatic is operatively connected to the hammer rail as usual.

Each of the pneumatics N, P, and T, c0m prise mechanism when brought in communication with the atmosphere will be caused to operate and when operated this mechathe piano mechanism as is common in all pneumatic player pianos and a detail description of the operation of this mechanism is thought to be unnecessary as such is common and known to those skilled within the art. In Fig. 13 there is shown a section through one of the pneumatics and as .all of the pneumatics are of the same construction,- I will give a detail description of only one of them. This pneumatic as shown is a representation of the conventional form now used in many pneumatic player pianos, and it is to be understood that any common or well known pneumatic may be substituted therefor which will give the desired results as no claim is being made to the specific construction of the pneumatic as shown.

The pneumatic P comprises a pouch 5,4 in

. the exhaust chamber which is connected to the operating button P"- by means of the rubber tube P and this exhaust chamber is connected to the wind chest or feeders by means of the tube P. By pressing the button P" air is permitted to enter the tube P and then under the pouch 54: causing the latter to strike the valve button 58, thereby holding the valve 55 against its valve seat. A felt cover 57 is provided which permits air to enter into the passage way 52 when the valve 55 is opened, and then. into the pneumatic 51, but when the valve 55 is closed the supply of air to the pneumatic 51 is cut off and a vacuum is formed within the pneu matic thereby causing the pneumatic to move the arm 60 which is connected to the hammer rail of the piano mechanism. \Vhen the button P is allowed to come back t9 its normal position it shuts off air from under the pouch 54, thereby releasing valve 55 and permitting air again to enter the pneumatic by the passage way 52. so

Mounted within the key-bed of the piano are the buttons N, P" and T for operating the usual valves for permitting air to enter the tubes N P and T leading to the respective solo pneumatics whereby they will be operated for obtaining the expression to the music as usual.

The levers X, Y, and Z are the usual levers for operating the tempo indicator,- and the motor for winding and unwinding the music rolls as usual.

All of the foregoing parts described go to make up'theplayer action of a pneumatic piano now in use and form no part of the present invention.

As stated in the outset of the specification it was an object of the invention to provide means for automatically gaining the correct expression of player pianos of this type and this mechanism will be described as follows.

Mounted upon the music spool box is a bracket 1 having fulcrumed thereto a lever 2. The lower end of the lever is connected to a block 3, see Fig. 10, by means of the set screw 4:. Extending through the aperture formed within the block is a rod -5 and this rod is retained within the aperture by means of the set screw. By loosening the set screw the rod may be released thereby forming an adjustable connection between the rod and the lever. Pivotally connected to the lever 2 as at 6 is an indicator arm 7. Mounted on each side of the indicator arm and the lever are leather disks 8 thereby providing a frictional connection for permitting the indicator to swing upon its pivot and when the lever is operated the indicator will be carried therewith.

Secured to the key-bed is a bearing 9 having an operators lever 10 pivotally secured thereto and thislever is connected at one end of a horizontally arranged link 11. Bearings 12 are ,mounted upon the piano casing and have journaled therein a vertically extending shaft 13. Secured to the lower end of theshaft 13 is a crank arm 14 having pivotally connected thereto as at 15 i one end of the rod 11. The opposite end of the shaft is provided with a crank arm 16 23 at one end thereof.

having pivoted thereto as at 17 the rod 5-" This rod 5 is provided with an offset portion 18 so that it may extend around the casing inclosing part of the player action and prevent an interference with its operation. The lower crank arm 1% is greater in length than the upper crank arm 16, but both of these crank arms extend from the shaft 13 in parallel relation to each other, as better shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings.

From the foregoing it is obvious that by moving the lever 10 upon its pivot the lever 2 will also be swung upon its pivot connec tion through the mechanism as described.

Many standard music rolls now in use are provided with a dotted line 19 to give to the operator'notice when to operate the buttons for giving expression to the music.

The lever 2 being connected to the indicator the latter willalso move when the lever 10 is operated so that the operator when moving the lever 10 will cause the indicator to follow the expression line upon the music rolls.

When it is not desired to use the expression mechanism the indicator may be swung upon its pivot connection 6 and the stop 20 carried thereby may rest within the neutral bracket 21 as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

Secured to the piano casing is a valve casing 22 having a channel 23 formed therein in which is slidably mounted a valve 24. A bracket 25 is secured to the outer face of the slide valve 24: and pivotally connected tothe bracket is a rod 26. Another rod 27 is pivotally connected to the lower end of the lever 10 and the inner ends of these rods 26 and 27 are adjustably connected by means of the connection 2 A pair of leaf springs 29 are diagonally secured to the valve casing 22 by means of screws and these springs are provided with offset portions 30 which rest upon the lower face of the slide valve 24 for retaining the same within the channel way.

Connected to the tubes of the solo pneumatics as at ll are the tubes N. l and T respectively. The tube T leads to the valve casing 22 and in connnunication with the passage way leading to the channel way The tube 1" also leads to the valve casing and is in communi-' cation with the passage 34; leading to the channel way and the tube N is in communication with the passage way 35 also leading to the channel-way 23 and terminating just above the inlet' end of the passage way 34.

The slide valve 2% is provided with a passage way 36 within one end thereof leading to the atmosphere and is adapted to communicate with the passage way 33 to permit the entrance of air to the latter whereby the loud pedal pneumatic T will be operated. Formed Within the opposite end of the slide,

valve are passage ways 37 and 38, see Fig. 6, respectively which are in communication with the atmosphere and are adapted to register with the passage ways 34: and 35 respectively whereby the treble and bass pneumaticsmay be operated.

From the foregoing it will be seen that by moving the handle of the lever 10 to the left the indicator will move to the right and registerwith the loud expression along the line 19, and in turn the valve 24: will slide to the right causing the opening 36 to register with the passage way whereby air will be permitted to enter the loud pedal pneumatic thereby operating the same. \Vhen the handle of the lev r 10 is moved to the right the indicator will register with the soft expression dots of the line 19 and the opening 37 will first register with the passage way 3i for permitting air to travel to the treble pneumatic where it will be operated and then by moving the lever farther to the right the opening 38 will register with the passage way 35 thereby permitting air to enter the tube N and then to the bass pneumatic where the latter will be operated. From this it will be seen that the bass or treble pneumatic may be severally operated, but by moving the slide valve still farther to the left the grooves 39 and 4:0 will register with the respective passage ways 35 and 34 thereby also permitting air to enter both of the passage ways at once whereby the bass and treble pneumatics may be jointly oper ated. \Vhen the bass andtreble pneumatics are operated it is obvious that the loud dam per pneumatic is closed and prevented from 'action. The channel way 23 is provided with a felt packing 41 upon which travels the slide valve 24 to prevent any leakage of air into the passage ways 33, 34 and 35, when the valve has closed these passage ways.

\Vhen the slide valve is moved to a position where all of the passageways within the valve casing are closed the medium tone of the piano will be given and when it is desired the valve may be placed in this posi tion and the indicator swung upon its pivot connection so that it will rest upon the neutral bracket 21' and then the operator may 'use the buttons N, P' and T in the usual manner for giving the usual expression to the music.

From the foregoing it is obvious that the mechanism forming the subject matter of the invention may be easily and readily ap plied to any player action using the solo pneumatics and when applied to any player action it can be readily placed out of use so that the usual expression devices may be brought into play.

\Vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a player piano comprising three pneumatic mechanisms for controlling the operation ofthe expression mechan sm, of avalve casing,'means of communication between the valve casing and pneumatic mechanisms, a valve slidably mounted within said caslng, said valve having a duet in one end thereof adapted to establish a communication between the atmosphere and one of the pneumatic mechanisms whereby its movevalve casing, said valve having ducts arranged therein communicating directly with the atmosphere, said valve when moved in one direction will cause one of the ducts therein to be brought in communication with one of the pneumatic mechanisms whereby 1 its movement will be effected, and when said valve is moved in its opposite direction the remaining pneumatic mechanisms will be brought into communication with the other ducts within the valve whereby theirmovemcnt may be singly or jointly effected.

' 3. In a player piano having an expression mechanism and pneumatic mechanisms for controlling the operation thereof, and controlling means for establishing communication between the pneumatic mechanisms and the atmosphere, whereby the movement of the valves may be efiected, of a valve adapted to be operated independently of said controlling means, said valve comprising the casing having a channel way therein, a con trolling member slidably mounted within said channel way, said controlling member having a duet in one end thereof to establish the means of communication between one of the pneumatic mechanisms and the atmosphere whereby its movement will be effected, the opposite end of said controlling member having ducts arranged therein to establish ameans of commumcatlon between the other pneumatic-mechanisms and the atmosphere, and means for moving said controlling member whereby the last mentioned pneumatic mechanisms will becaused to be effected independent of each other, and the last said ducts being adapted to cause the communication between the last said pneumatic mechanisms and the atmos here whereby their movement will be e ected jointly.

4;. The combination with a player piano comprising pneumatic mechanisms for controlling the operation of the expression mechanisms, a tube leading from each pneumatic'mechanism and means for establishing a communication between the tubes and the atmosphere, of a valve communicating directly with the atmosphere, ducts leading from. said valve and communicating with said tubes and means for operating the valve whereby the 'ductswill be brought into communication with said tubes for the purpose set forth.

5. In a player piano comprising pneumatic mechanisms for controlling the operation of the expression mechanism, a tube leading from each pneumatic mechanism, and means for bringing each tube into communication with the atmosphere, of a valve casing, ducts leading from said casing and communicating with said tubes, a valve slidably mounted within said easing, the said valve having openings in directvcommunication with the atmosphere, means for sliding said valve in one direction whereby one of the ducts will be brought into communication with the atmosphere and means for slidingthe valve in its opposite direction for causing the other ducts to be brought into communication with the atmosphere for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

. OTIS M. KENNEDY. Witnesses ELIZABETH W. DoAK, C. W. HOPKINS.

copies of thin patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratentl.

' Washington, I). G. 

